The only vetoed trade in NBA history is the reason why the Clippers stopped being league's laughing stock

Los Angeles Clippers were an NBA laughing stock until 2011 when they acquired Chris Paul in a trade with the New Orleans Hornets. The organization managed to pull off the deal only because of then-NBA commissioner David Stern, who vetoed Paul's move to the Los Angeles Lakers. To this day, it remains the only vetoed trade in NBA history.

The Clippers got relevant by accident

At that time, the New Orleans Hornets made a three-team deal with the Lakers and the Houston Rockets that would ultimately send "Point God" to the Purple and Gold. Everybody was already hyping the move and fantasizing about the Kobe Bryant-CP3 duo that would bring the "Lake Show" its third consecutive championship.

Stern said no, though. The league was the owner of the Hornets franchise at the time, and the commissioner had to approve a deal of this magnitude. He felt that the Lakers would become too dominant, especially due to a large cap space that eventually enabled them to bring Dwight Howard to the team.

Clips jumped in and took advantage of the opportunity to become relevant, even by accident. They got CP3 in exchange for Al-Farouq Aminu, Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, and a Timberwolves unprotected first-round pick in 2012. "Lob City" was born, and the Clippers were never the same again.

At the time of the CP3 trade, the Clips had a powerful duo at the power forward and center spot in Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Both had amazing jumping ability, and when combined with "Point God's" passing skills, everybody knew the team would have a ridiculous number of alley-oop dunks on a nightly basis.

Hence, "Lob City" was born. Indeed, every game was a spectacle that included show-stopping dunks from Jordan and Griffin, with Paul mostly throwing lobs to them.

The Clippers were finally winning again, which was like a breath of fresh air for any fan who cheered for them because the franchise managed to go to the Playoffs only seven times since the 1970s when the team was still called the Buffalo Braves. Championship aspirations rose, and it felt like it was only a matter of time until "Lob City" would capture its first title in franchise history.

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Victim of the expectations

Even though the team was exciting, the Clips never even got to the Western Conference Finals with CP3 at the helm. They were the closest in 2015 when they had a 3-1 lead in the second round of the Playoffs against the Rockets, but in the end, they collapsed and lost the series in seven games.

Paul was a Clipper until 2017 when he was traded to Houston. Expectations, injuries, chemistry issues, and bickering were the reason why "Lob City" never got over the hump in those six years.

Even so, it can be argued that it was the best era in the Clippers' history. Considering the team had no record of consistently winning, it was amazing to see them near the top of the conference every year, even though they eventually collapsed in the Playoffs.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George's era soon after had even bigger expectations, and the team did manage to get to a Western Conference Finals once, but that era wasn't better than the "Lob City" one. Constant load management and injury issues Kawhi and PG-13 had were infuriating to the Clipper fans, and the style of basketball wasn't as exciting as it was during the Point God years.

Now, with George in Philadelphia, Kawhi has another injury issue, and the team's championship window has passed. Still, since the CP3 trade, the Clips have way more wins than losses. And that was only possible because of David Stern, and his vetoed trade.

Related: Los Angeles Clippers officially announce they're parting ways with Paul George: "We will miss Paul"